Hidden Feelings
by batman-defeats-all
Summary: When Tim investigates the locked room near his and Dick's rooms, he learns a bit more of a boy who was never mentioned in the manor; Jason Todd, the lost Robin. Soon afterwards, a mysterious vigilante known only as "Red Hood" shows up in Gotham, who seems to know a lot about the deceased boy. However, any investigation must be put on hold due to a small problem; The Joker's loose.
1. Prologue

**... I'll be honest, I really hate this.**

**I wanted to write something, though, so you get my junk as a result.  
**

**... As usual, it involves Jason. HE'S NOT EVEN MY FAVORITE! DICK IS!  
**

**... I do not own Young Justice. Or Jason.  
**

Tim saw Dick crying sometimes.

It was always from afar, and he always made sure the older boy could not see him. It was always really odd to see his strong, happy older brother breaking down like that. It actually sort of scared Tim.

Which made him particularly glad that only a few things triggered Dick's tears. Like those pictures Dick kept hidden in the back of his closet, but always managed to make it to the front, into the young man's sight. Or a random shirt that looked about Tim's size that his brother found underneath his bed.

However, some things that caused the crying were always there. Such as the locked door right in between Dick and Tim's own rooms. Every time the young adult passed that door, tears started to brim in his eyes, and often dropped, leaving a wet trail down his face.

Then, of course, was the cause that explained everything else. The display case in the cave that held a tattered and ripped Robin costume, and a shining plaque directly underneath:

_Jason Todd_

_ A Good Solider_

Tim noticed that Dick always tried to avoid looking at the costume. Every time his brother did happen to glance at the uniform, however, he ran off soon after, tears glistening in his crystal blue eyes.

Alfred also stayed far away from the case as much as possible. Unfortunately for the butler, he did have to dust it occasionally. When this occurred, though, his eyes were almost always firmly shut, and misery was evident on his face.

Bruce never looked at the case, period. At least, never when he thought Tim was around. When the boy snuck down into the cave when he was supposed to be sound asleep in the manor, though, he could see the man staring at the costume. There was never any real emotion on his face; he just stared, deep in thought.

Tim was never quite sure which reaction scared him the most.

He always wanted to know more about the Robin that came directly before him. What he was like, if he was a good fighter, if he had ever joined the team. Tim was curious about it all. He was always a bit scared to ask Bruce anything, though, so the one time he did question anyone about the boy, he had gone straight to Dick.

That had certainly ended badly.

Tim had never seen Dick that angry, and he hadn't since. The pure fury that bringing up the fallen bird rose in the older hero discouraged Tim from asking anything else ever again on that particular topic.

It was while he was standing, staring at the costume in question, that the boy made a decision to find out about the past Robin himself.

"Jason Todd," he whispered. The name felt odd and foreign on his tongue. Most thoughts about the other boy felt that way as well.

He had a plan. Bruce was on an off planet mission, Alfred was on vacation, and Dick was at a meeting about the team and was not expected back for an hour. They had trusted Tim alone in the manor, something they had never done before.

It was the only opportunity he was ever going to get. With much purpose, Tim strode down the hallway with his and Dick's rooms.

As well as the locked room of Jason Todd.

The initial problem of the door being, well, _locked_, was soon mitigated by a paper clip he always kept in his pocket. Would that work for most people on a door Bruce choose? No, but Tim Drake was not _most people_.

The door now unlocked, the boy took a deep breath. He was really not supposed to be doing this. Bruce would have a fit if he knew.

He had to find out who the lost boy was, though. Confident in his decision, Tim swung the door open-

Only to be met with a cloud of dust. A fit of coughs was triggered, and he could barely see. It wasn't until the dust cleared that he even got to view the room.

Walking farther inside, Tim bluntly noticed the decorations all over the room. There were various hard rock posters everywhere, for bands such as Three Days Grace, Linkin Park, and Hollywood Undead. The dark curtains for the room was closed tightly over the window, and the red bedding on the four-poster bed was still in disarray. There was clothes scattered across the ground, as well as many papers stuffed into one corner. Walking up to the pile, Tim picked a paper.

"A parent/guardian teacher conference is requested for your child, Jason Todd, due to talking back to a teacher."

He grabbed another paper, seeing a similar message, only about starting a fight. Going through the whole pile, he saw they were all requests for conferences.

"Did he show any of these to Bruce?" he whispered to himself, intrigued.

Looking over at the dresser directly next to him, a framed photo caught the boy's attention. Standing from his crouched position, he reached for the frame. After blowing the dust off the glass, he studied the picture.

There were two figures. The taller of the two was obviously Dick, looking about sixteen years old. He was smiling brightly, with his arm wrapped around the shoulder of a boy that looked about Tim's age. The boy had light blue eyes, pale skin, and raven hair arranged messily around his face. There was an annoyed expression on the boy's face, though one could easily tell he was not unhappy in the position, and was enjoying the attention.

With a start, Tim realized he was staring at a photo of the infamous Jason Todd.

Slowly putting the frame down, he started to back away, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in the near empty room. His blood ran cold when he bumped into the chest of his older brother.

"I see you've found Jason's room," Dick whispered quietly. He may have sounded calm, but Tim knew it was the calm before the storm.

"...Yeah."

"Paper clip?"

"... Yeah."

Dick looked away from Tim, and down at the photo the boy had placed down just a moment before.

"You were curious, I guess. Tim... let's talk somewhere else. How does my room sound?"

Without waiting for an answer from his younger brother, Dick stalked out of the room. Tim was right at his heels, and stood next to his brother as the door was relocked. When they entered Dick's room, the older boy sat down on the bed, running his hand through his black hair. Tim sat hesitantly next to Dick.

"Tim... Do you know why we never talk about Jason?"

This question made the boy merely raise an eyebrow.

"Of course. He died, right?"

At the words, Dick took a deep breath in obvious terror of the memory.

"Yeah... He died. Was.. murdered."

Clapping his hands together, Dick quickly moved on.

"Point is, bringing Jay up causes emotions that... well, none of us want to feel. Bruce tries to ignore them, but I assume you've noticed him staring at the case?"

"Yeah..."

"Thought so. You're too observant to not have."

Sighing again, Dick looked Tim square in the eyes.

"Just... don't go in there again, okay? I won't tell Bruce about this time, but I'll have to tell him if it happens again. No one is supposed to go into Jay's room."

Tim nodded his head in understanding.

Now smiling slightly again, Dick ruffled his brother's hair, and led him out of the room.

As soon as Tim was once again in the hallway, he looked at the locked door one more time. Behind that doorway, a boy not so different from himself had dwelled before he was taken from this life. Sure, Tim didn't get into trouble nearly as often, but he struggled to find himself. Just like it looked like Jason had.

"Jason Todd," he whispered again. It didn't seem quite as odd any more.

Smiling slightly, Tim walked into his own room, deep in thought about a mischievous boy with blue eyes and messy black hair.

**...Right. I really hated this...**

**I'm debating if I should write another chapter... it doesn't feel done...  
**

**Please review!  
**


	2. Chapter 1

**.. Well, this took awhile to write. It is decided that this story will have a few more chapters.**

**I do not own Young Justice.  
**

It had been five months since Tim had ventured into the room of the unknown second Robin. After seeing Dick so broken, he had truly lost interest in finding out much more about Jason Todd. It was not like he would ever meet the other boy, he was dead after all. It was time to leave this odd obsession behind him.

Bruce was never told about his little adventure into the musty room. Dick had carefully locked the door when they exited, though Tim had noticed him smile very sadly at the framed photo. All evidence that he had ever gone in had been erased except for the memories. Since he was not likely to betray himself anytime soon, and Dick seemed to despise the topic altogether, Tim was sure his secret was safe.

When he gotten into the back of the Batmobile for patrol that night, he did not think about Jason Todd at all. In fact, the only thought he could currently focus on was his excitement over the fact that Dick was going to be helping them that night. Babs was busy with family business, and his older brother didn't like no one being their to watch his back.

Tim didn't think about why this was so at all. Though he had always noticed the terror in his brother's eyes whenever Tim got even a little injured, he never managed to make the blatantly obvious connection.

Soon Dick took his place in the front, with Bruce settling in the driver's seat next to his original partner. The vehicle was racing through the streets of Gotham only moments later, heading towards a report of a gang dealing.

When they arrived, Nightwing and Batman jumped out first, checking the area to make sure it was safe. There was still some villains that they refused to let Tim out of the Batmobile when present. The main one was the Joker; which, being honest, was really starting to get annoying considering the man broke out of Arkham every other week, if even that little.

Seeing no major threats present, Nightwing sent Robin a signal saying he was able to get out. Eagerly jumping from the car, the boy ran up to join his mentor and brother in sneaking towards the building under suspicion.

The three heroes leaped onto a fire escape outside a window on the building, and with a signal from Batman, crashed through the glass. The gang that was meeting below looked up, shocked, at the three heroes. Soon, Nightwing and Robin had knocked out all but the leader, who was currently getting cornered by Batman. As the two young heroes took their place behind their mentor, the man's eyes widened in slight fear.

"I-I didn't do nothin'! You Bats got no reason to hunt down me or my gang!"

Batman crossed his arms at the terrified man.

"If we have no reason to capture you, explain what you and your men were doing with those stolen shipments last night?"

The shaking man froze, the petty fear from before turning into absolute terror.

"I-I was just following orders! It wasn't my fault!"

The Dark Knight continued pressing on.

"Whose order's were you following?"

The man glanced around, as if looking for someone in the rafters.

"M-My boss!"

"Who?"

The man was obviously very stressed out; soon, a name blurted from his lips.

"The Red Hood!"

A bullet suddenly whizzed past Tim's left ear, and embedded itself in the man's head. Batman dashed back as the body thudded down, blood leaking onto the concrete floor.

Nightwing took a step closer to the body, kicking it lightly with a black boot. Getting no response, he looked up.

"He's dead. It was clearly a sniper."

As Batman bent down to investigate the body, Robin became very confused.

"Wait- who's Red Hood?"

Nightwing went over to his younger brother, a slightly concerned look on his still young face.

"We don't know, Robin. I am assuming he's the one who killed this guy, but there's no way to be sure. Hey, Bats, do we know where the shot came from?"

Bruce stood, and turned towards the younger heroes.

"The shot came from the window in the upper left corner. Nightwing, I want you to try to follow the sniper's trail. Robin and I will clean up here."

The young adult nodded in understanding, and soon was out the window. Robin, however, was stuck looking longingly after him.

As Batman noticed his partner's discontent, he sighed slightly.

"Robin- I think I can handle everything here. If you want to go help Nightwing-"

The boy was out the window as soon as the words were spoken. Shaking his head, Batman moved among the unconscious, trying his best to ward away the worries for his two sons that haunted his mind.

Meanwhile, Tim dashed on the rooftops, trying his best to catch up with Dick, who was leaping gracefully from roof to roof, seemingly never stopping. It was obvious his brother had already found the sniper, even if Robin could not see the target from so far behind. Using all of his speed, the boy bounded forwards, finally landing next to the older hero.

Hearing the young boy next to him, Nightwing looked down, a large smile on his face as they continued forward.

"Batman let you join me, I see. Good thing, too. This guy is harder to catch then I thought. Defiantly is this Red Hood person, see that red helmet he's wearing?"

Tim looked forward at who they were chasing, and saw a figure a few yards ahead, wearing a leather jacket and a blood red helmet, moving almost as gracefully on the rooftops as Nightwing.

Obviously he knew the city, and knew it well.

"This a guy you know already?"

"No. Never seen him before."

Someone who knew the city well, yet had apparently never dealt with the heroes before.

Now Tim was just curious.

After a few more minutes of chase, the Red Hood turned around, and noticed that Robin was there.

He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the young hero.

Nightwing stopped just as suddenly, only two yards away from the mysterious criminal, putting out an arm to help Tim stop as well. The boy nearly fell into the arm, but managed to balance himself and move into a ready position similar to that his older brother was currently in.

The Red Hood turned his covered head, as if taking in the two young heroes. Almost casually he reached behind his back pulling out a small handgun, and let his hand holding it fall to his side.

"So, the stories I heard are true. Bats is letting another little bird fly around. That's surprising."

Judging by the voice, the man was even younger than Dick, around the age of sixteen. His voice had a challenging tone, and a bitter undertone. Nightwing appeared a bit surprised that the Red Hood was focusing on the Boy Wonder, but took it in stride to use as a distraction.

"Why would that be surprising? Batman is always willing to train prospective young heroes."

When the teen standing in front of them answered, his voice somehow sounded even more bitter, and even.. angry.

"Well, considering what happened to the _last one_, maybe Bats should change that policy."

At first, Nightwing merely stiffened at the words, and the whites of his mask widened in shock. Seconds latter, however, his eyes narrowed in pure fury.

"I've never even seen you before in this city! How the hell do you know about that?"

The Red Hood started backing up to the edge of the roof as he answered the angry hero.

"How are you so sure you haven't seen me around, Wingnut?"

Dick looked shocked once again after the words.

"Wait- wha-"

As Nightwing was distracted, Red Hood jumped off the roof, raising his gun and firing a single shot at the two heroes as he left. While Dick quickly pushed Tim out of the bullet's path, the criminal's voice resonated through the area.

"See you around, Wingnut and replacement."

With that, the Red Hood was gone. As soon as Dick had made sure that Tim was okay he ran to the edge to see where he had gone, but there was no trace. The young man looked annoyed and slightly disappointed to not find the teen, and soon he went off in the direction of the warehouse where Bruce was waiting for the two, mumbling under his breath.

As Tim followed him, he wondered why his brother was so upset.

Then, for the first time in months, he thought about Jason Todd, as he realized that the mysterious Red Hood had brought up the lost Robin.

And with that, opened up the closed wounds Dick tried to hide desperately.

Tim was not set off by many things; if he didn't know someone well, he wasn't likely to really hate them. Unless, of course, they caused Dick misery, as the teen they had been chasing had.

Which was how Tim found himself truly despising the Red Hood for mentioning Jason Todd and hurting his older brother.

It was not until later that he knew just how ironic that was.


	3. Chapter 2

**Jason is canon.**

**May life be celebrated.  
**

**I do not own Young Justice.  
**

To say Tim was annoyed that he was grounded from being patrolling in Gotham would be putting it rather lightly. Especially since he had literally no idea _why._

He had not had any major mistakes in weeks. He had been following all of Bruce's orders. There was literally no reason for him to not be allowed to go out with Batman.

However, that did not stop the man from ordering him to stay in his room that night. Nor did it cause Bruce to even answer any of his questions.

However, as he surfed the Internet that night, trying to find something to calm his anger, instead he found the exact reason why he couldn't go out.

The Joker had escaped from Arkham.

Tim hadn't faced Joker yet. Anytime there was even the slightest of signs of the clown being involved, the boy was immediately taken off the case. Bruce wouldn't let the madman near the young genius, and for good reason.

Usually, Tim would have been perfectly fine with this explanation.

Usually Bruce would have just told him right away, though.

Which was why he could have been found sneaking into the Batcave.

Well, he could have been found if Dick and Bruce hadn't already left for the night, and if Alfred wasn't so busy trying to clean a particularly stubborn bloodstain out of one of Dick's costume.

The young adult would refuse to answer any questions about how he had gotten the bullet in his shoulder, but after getting it cleaned and checked by Leslie, Bruce had deemed him fit for patrol.

While at the same time, Tim had to put on his Robin costume without permission, and leave the cave stealthily, going into a dash as soon as he left the entrance.

It did not take the young hero long to reach the city. The main problem came up when he did make it to the outskirts; he had literally no idea where the Joker even was.

Annoyed by this realization, Robin took a grappling hook off of his utility belt and swung onto a nearby roof, deciding to just search the city until he ran into something.

It wasn't until about twenty minutes later that he realized he was being followed.

At first, the boy wasn't sure if the flash of red he was sure he had seen behind him was just his imagination or not, so he had ignored it. In fact, he didn't even fully turn around until he heard the sound of someone bumping into the ledge of a roof and swearing quietly.

Tim nearly had a breakdown when he saw the Red Hood a few feet behind him. That slight terror swiftly turned to anger when he remembered how upset the criminal had made Dick.

Pulling out his bo staff, Robin got into a fighting stance.

"Stand down, Hood," he barked out.

He did not appreciate the chuckles that sounded out directly afterwards.

"The baby bird really thinks he can take me out with that dumb staff?" the young man asked, looking around the rooftop as if expecting someone else to be there with them.

"Yes, I do!" Tim growled, his anger growing with each second.

"That is honestly cute." The Red Hood still would not look directly at him. It honestly was really starting annoy Tim.

"Would you please at least look at me when you are patronizing me?" he eventually asked. The criminal looked at him, surprise still managing to be evident through his helmet.

"I thought there would be someone else with you," Red Hood said slowly.

"Well, I'm alone. Why?"

"Huh... Thought this may be Nightwing's latest plan to try to catch me... He's been at it for the past week nearly nonstop..."

Dick had been gone often during the past week... Kept saying he had some personal business to attend to, always returning with a disappointed expression.

And... he had a bullet wound he refused to explain...

"You shot Nightwing!" the boy suddenly snarled out, fury engulfing him.

"Wait- one of those bullets actually hit him? That... wasn't on purpose..."

Tim nearly snorted at the response.

"Why wouldn't it be? You're a criminal."

The Red Hood was obviously getting annoyed himself by this point.

"Y'know, I heard that you were a much more rational birdy."

"I usually am, you're just really aggravating."

The criminal snorted.

"I can say the same for you, kid."

As Tim was about to retort, he realized he was wasting time. Bruce wasn't going to be convinced he could truly help him if he spent the whole night bickering with some trigger-happy crazy with a helmet.

"I don't have time for this..." he muttered angrily, turning away. As he tried to just walk away, though, Red Hood followed him, soon standing right in front of the young hero.

"What's the rush?"

Tim tried to get around Red Hood, but the criminal would not let him through.

"I need to go help Batman! Now get out of my way, or I'll contact Nightwing and tell him where you are."

"I know that's a lie; Bats would never let you out alone. You probably snuck out, so you can't exactly tell your big bro that you've broke curfew, can you?"

Tim scowled in response.

"Well, he doesn't know I'm coming, but I can still help!"

"Let me guess; There's some big-shot rogue that escaped like thirty minutes ago, which would be the only way I haven't heard about it yet, and you want to prove that you can take them? Am I close with this?"

Managing to get around Red Hood, Robin jumped to the next building, only for the young man to follow him.

"Okay, yes! That's correct! Though the con broke out a couple of hours ago..."

"Really? We must having been having this chat for awhile..."

Tim felt his eye twitching.

"Okay, what kind of criminal are you?"

"One that just really is not big into Bats, but can spare some time for birds."

After the young hero stared at him for a moment, Red Hood sighed.

"Who is it, anyway? Two-Face? Poison Ivy? Riddler?"

Tim shook his head.

"If you must know, it's the Joker. Happy now?"

Robin was actually rather surprised to see the Red Hood suddenly freeze. When the young man spoke again, his voice was harsh and commanding.

"Kid, you need to get out of here _now_. That clown is dangerous-"

Tim nearly threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"Brilliant, now even the criminals think I can't handle it!"

"I'm not even kidding, kid, get out of here-"

It wasn't until they heard cackling below that they even realized how far into the city they had walked.

As the laughter rang out, Tim didn't even have to look over the edge of the building to know who was there. That didn't exactly stop him, though, and he was soon watching the battle below. He registered Red Hood standing next to him, but this thought was completely washed out by what he was seeing.

He had never seen Bruce not be completely in control of a situation. In this case, however, the man had anything but control.

Batman was currently sparring the Joker. Nothing seemed wrong about that, in fact he was winning.

However, around the fight there was mass destruction. Civilians lay around, huge smiles frozen on their faces. Crashed cars were scattered around.

The most horrifying thing though was Nightwing on the ground just a few feet away, not moving, with blood slowly leaking from a long knife wound clearly visible on his chest.

"See, kid, way too dangerous. You should really get out of here-" The Red Hood started, obviously nervous, before Tim interrupted him.

"No! They need my help!"

Before he was able to jump down the building with a grappling hook in tow, though, the criminal grabbed his cape, pulling him back onto the roof.

"Just wait it out a few minutes. It looks like Bats is about to beat the creep anyway..."

As he finished talking, the Joker suddenly stopped laughing, and was soon talking to the Dark Knight instead.

"Why don't you ever bring your new little birdy? All I ever get to play with anymore is the biggest bird, and he's no fun anymore... At least not as fun as that last one!"

Tim barely registered the Red Hood stiffening next to him, and took no notice.

"You just pointed out why Robin is not let near you, Joker," Bruce snarled out.

"Ohhh... You're no fun..."

Tim wasn't sure what happened next. One second he was watching his mentor fight the Joker, the next he had somehow managed to trip over the edge of the building and towards the ground below. Managing to pull out a grappling hook, he swung onto the ground instead of crashing right into it.

Unfortunately, this just put him in a possibly worse situation; he was standing only a few yards away from Batman and the Joker, who were both staring at him. On the rooftop, he could see the Red Hood looking down at him, for some reason fear managing to be clear even with the helmet.

"Robin, I thought I told to stay at the cave!" Batman nearly roared out in what most would see as only anger, but Tim managed to hear the pure fear in his voice.

When the Joker seemed to refuse to stop staring at him, he suddenly figured out why.

"My, so THIS is the new wittle birdy I've heard so _little_ about! Kind of puny, really. Then again, they all seem to be when they start out..."

When no one spoke, the maniac just continued on.

"Well, this youngster looks awfully bored to me. Mo, can you and your crew come and entertain him?"

Tim had literally no idea where the five huge thugs had come from. When they started pummeling him, though, he really regretted accidentally letting his bo staff, which would have been his only way to defend himself, break on impact.

With the massive men attacking him, it only took a few short minutes for the boy to slip into unconsciousness, wishing he had just listened to the Red Hood and left while he could.


	4. Chapter 3

**Not my... best chapter. It's... okay, though...**

**I do not own Young Justice.  
**

The Red Hood swore loudly when he saw Robin fall off the building.

He started trying to find a way down for himself that wouldn't attract attention as he saw the kid starting to fight multiple goons about ten times larger then himself.

The anti-hero was nearly racing down the building when Robin got knocked out and he saw the Joker's goons carry the boy away, the clown following soon after.

However, when he finally reached the ground, the only ones left were the injured civilians, some police officers, the still unconscious Nightwing, and Batman.

Who just looked directly at him.

"Damn it..." the criminal muttered as he dashed down an alleyway, the Dark Knight on his trail immediately.

He knew it wouldn't take long for the older man to catch him, so he was not at all surprised when he was tackled to the ground, his helmet being pushed against the concrete as Batman spoke.

"Why were you near that attack? Are you working with the Joker?"

The young man couldn't help but scoff at the question.

"Aw, hell no."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Let's just say I have some... history with the Joker. I just... really despise that psychotic, no-good scum bag, who has literally no right to even live-"

Batman interrupted the Red Hood's unintentional rant mid-sentence.

"Well, what were you doing there, then?"

The anti-hero was silent for a moment, before answering slowly.

"Well... I was trying to get your kid to NOT go down there... Then he kind of fell..."

"What were you even doing talking to Robin?"

"... Right, anything I say here would either sound really bad, say more about myself then I really want anyone to know, or both..."

The Dark Knight scowled at the Red Hood, and was just about to continue questioning the fallen young man until he saw Nightwing come limping into the alley, his arm wrapped tightly around his chest to stop the bleeding.

"I don't think he was threatening Robin in any way, Bats. Just... let him up..."

Batman looked at his ex-partner oddly.

"Why do you say that?"

"Just... trust me on this one."

Red Hood was swearing under his breath as Batman hesitantly stopped pushing him into the ground, allowing him to stand.

What truly surprised the man was when the anti-hero turned towards Nightwing, and spoke with slight worry in his voice.

"Should you really be walking around in that condition, dude?"

The young man chuckled darkly at the question.

"Don't know why you would care, seeing as you shot me just yesterday..."

The Red Hood flinched underneath his helmet as a deadly bat-glare was sent in his direction.

"_You_ were the one who shot Nightwing? And you expect me to believe anything you say?"

"In my defense, I do not lie at all when I say that _none_ of those bullets were supposed to hit him. They were just to try to get him off my trail..."

The young hero chuckled at the words.

"I'm not one to give up easily..."

Grimacing at the blood leaking through Nightwing's fingers that were desperately trying to hide his wound, Red Hood answered.

"Yeah, I kind of noticed."

As the small conversation went on, Batman was annoyed and confused. He had no idea why Nightwing was talking with the criminal. He had no idea why there was an obvious understanding in the young man's expression... as he talked with a criminal.

Batman hated not understanding what was happening. That, mixed with the fact he was already stressed due to Tim getting captured by the same maniac that had brutally... murdered...

The Dark Knight cut off his thoughts before he managed to even think the name of the fallen Robin, turning his attention back to Nightwing and the illusive Red Hood.

"What do you suppose we now, then?" the man growled to his oldest son.

"Well... I don't... know..." the young man answered awkwardly, wincing when he finished speaking.

"Shouldn't you go look for the kid?" Red Hood asked, slight anger lacing his voice.

"I meant about you," the Dark Knight snapped. "You are a known felon who has been known to murder multiple people."

"... I don't really consider it _murder_ exactly if they were just drug-dealing garbage that gave no contribution to society..."

"What do you do, then?"

"... Rid the world of more drug-dealing garbage..."

Batman noticed the exasperated look on Nightwing's face at the words. Making sure to remember the odd relationship his son seemed to have with the young vigilante, he pushed onward.

"Nonetheless, it is illegal and you need to be arrested."

When the young man, who actually sounded more like a teenager, answered, anger and desperation laced his voice.

"Arresting me really shouldn't be your focus right now! An innocent kid is in the hands of a freaking madman, who has been known to torture and kill Robins before!"

Batman froze at the words, before suddenly pushing the teen into the side of a nearby building.

"How the hell do you know about that?" he snarled out.

"... Nightwing asked the exact same question..."

Batman started feel fury engulf him when he felt his son put a hand on his shoulder.

"Bats, Hood is right. We should be looking for Robin before he gets.. too hurt..."

Batman saw the logic in the words. That was the only reason why he straightened up, letting the previously restrained anti-hero move away slightly.

"You're... right. We should start searching through some of Joker's hideouts..."

As he spoke to his ex-partner, Red Hood slowly started to move away. That is, until Nightwing spoke to him.

"You seemed pretty passionate about finding Rob.. Wanna help out?"

The teen froze, before answering slowly.

"I would, but I don't think Mr. Bats here would be very fond of that idea..."

The Caped Crusader took a deep breath before answering through gritted teeth.

"You were also right in saying that the Joker is... rather dangerous. Since Batgirl is out with her family tonight, help would be... semi-appreciated."

Despite the helmet the Red Hood wore, one could easily tell he was raising an eyebrow at the words.

"You really did your best to not sound completely desperate in that, didn't ya? I guess saving a kid from psychotic scum is not the worst way to spend an evening."

Batman really hated getting help from a killer; but what other way was there to find Tim in time before he ended up like...

Like... Jason...


	5. Chapter 4

**I do not own Young Justice.**

Tim had no idea what was going on when he woke up in a pitch black room, tied to a cold wooden chair. His memory awakened when he started struggling against the tight bonds, only to be hit over the head by a heavy hand.

"Stop movin', brat," a rough voice growled out, obviously belonging to some thug. Like the ones that had subdued him after he stupidly went after the freaking Joker, even after the warning of the Red Hood, who was a criminal. A murderous vigilante had more logic then he did.

And now, he was most likely going to die, killed by the Joker like Jason Todd had been. All because some stupid notion that he could take the clown, that he was ready, when he wasn't, not even close...

Tim's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by light flooding the large room, nearly blinding him and forcing him to squint to see anything.

When he could see clearly, though, he was not particularity happy with what he saw. To be more accurate, he was now completely terrified.

"Well, hello, hello, hello, Bird Boy number three!" the Joker said as sauntered over, giggling at his own words as if there was some hidden joke.

"Wh-what do you want?" Tim asked, trying to sound strong. He could hear his own voice faltering, though.

"Is it a crime to want to get to know Batsy's new kiddie that he seemed so determined to hide from his good ol' Uncle J!" The clown stopped speaking for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face, before suddenly laughing loudly.

"Oh, wait, this kidnapping, isn't it? Well, I guess it is a crime, then!"

Leaning against the back of the chair Tim was sitting on, the Joker continued talking.

"Doesn't matter, though. It wasn't fair of Bats to keep a birdy away from me. I got to play with the original all the time. I still do.. It doesn't even get boring that often... He always has that _hilarious_ horrified expression if I even touch anyone else."

Striding across the room, the maniac just kept talking.

"Then the second one, oh, _he _was fun. Always so angry, which was so enjoyable to manipulate... Things were starting to get a bit boring with Bats, though, so Birdy numba two had to go bye bye."

The maniacal giggling that came after the honestly disturbing statement did not help Tim's nerves. Or slow his heart-rate down.

The Joker paused in his rant, and returned next to Tim's chair, leaning in until his face was inches away from the boy's own.

"Now Bats has got you, though. And I want to know what is so special that could make him put another little kiddie in danger after what I did to the last one.

"The clown grabbed Tim's face roughly, examining his features carefully, and glaring at the mask. Still holding the boy's face, he leaned in further, until he was able to whisper directly into Tim's ear.

"Bats kept you away from me, brat. He needs to learn that he can't hide my toys, no matter how much he wants to keep them in good shape."

The grip was then released, and the Joker moved to a table near the wall of what seemed like a warehouse.

"Time to play!"

The psychopath turned back towards Tim with the boy's utility belt in tow, one purple-gloved hand digging through one of the pockets.

"Since your daddy lets you carry these around, it should be alright if I borrow them for this little play date..."

A batarang was eventually fished out, much to the Joker's obvious delight. Terror clenched Tim's stomach as he saw the clown stick his tongue out slightly, his face contorted as he focused on aiming the weapon at what seemed like Tim's head. When the object was thrown, the boy closed his eyes, expecting the sharp tip of the batarang to pierce his skull in mere seconds.

Instead, it grazed past his cheek, cutting his skin as it passed and embedded itself completely through the back of the chair, directly next to his head.

"It isn't like your daddy would let you play with anything _dangerous_," The Joker's voice was cold and cruel, making Tim shiver slightly. Somehow, this was much, much worse then the usual, insane voice.

After more groping through the pockets of Tim's belt, three explosive discs were produced from the clown's efforts.

"My, my, these are certainly familiar..." The Joker whispered, hatred lacing his voice as he continued on. "Bat Brat number one used a few hundred of these things on a big plant me and a couple of buddies worked so hard on. I rather liked that plant..."

Turning towards Tim, the same hatred shined in the maniac's eyes.

"From what I've heard from some other rogues, the big Birdie has been rather overprotective of you. Probably my fault, really, but I think it would be delightfully ironic if I used these babies on something that brat cares about..."

The half-haphazardly thrown discs landed feet away from Tim, but the power from the explosion was still enough to knock his chair over. His head crashed hard onto the rough concrete, and he could feel blood starting to puddle in his hair. The Joker slowly walked towards him, looking down at the boy with a mixed expression of amusement and pure, unadulterated hatred.

"You aren't looking too good, mini Birdie. That really is too bad..."

The Joker's foot crashed onto Tim's chest, cracking the chair underneath him and quite a few ribs on impact. He then moved in closer to the boy, grinding his foot as he moved.

"The fun has just started..."


	6. Chapter 5

**Well, not a very long chapter... Not very fond of the first part...**

**I do not own Young Justice.  
**

"So, where should we look for the kid?" Red Hood asked as the small group started swiftly moving towards the Batmobile.

"Just get in the car," Batman growled in response as they turned down the alley where the vehicle was parked.

"We don't even know where we are going yet, shouldn't we compile a list of possible locations or- _oh man that is a nice car_."

The anti-hero coughed, then spoke again awkwardly.

"What I mean is... it... looks more advanced then pictures of it I've seen."

Nightwing, opening the passenger door to get to his seat, laughed.

"Was probably an old pic, then. Bats got the thing updated to hold up to four people, and got a few more upgrades along the way."

"I can tell..." the teen muttered as he climbed into the back seat.

As the car was put into motion, Red Hood started pestering Batman again.

"You never did say how we are even going to find Robin in the first place..."

"He has a tracker in his utility belt. We are heading in what is hopefully his direction right now," the man growled out, which was starting to seem like the only way he could communicate with the Red Hood.

The silence that followed did not last for long.

"Wait, did you have trackers on your old Robins, also?" the anti-hero asked, sounding oddly scared to hear the answer.

"Ugh, I didn't find out about that until I got bored and watched him make Robin's costume... Apparently there was a tracker there the whole time that _I didn't even know about!_" Nightwing groaned out, obviously having wanted to comment on the subject for quite awhile.

"Heh... right..." the teenager responded, now sounding rather terrified.

Batman was able to have a few minutes of blissful silence before Red Hood felt the need to break it yet again.

"... Where are we going, though?"

While Batman was starting to feel quite annoyed at the young vigilante, he also could not help but sense... familiarity around the teen.

He didn't trust it. Then again, he didn't really trust the boy at all.

He was assisting him in finding Tim, though, so some explanation on the simplest of matters was only courteous...

"The abandoned toy warehouse in the West wing of the city."

"... All things considered, that does make a lot of sense."

As soon as the car parked a block from the building, Nightwing literally jumped out of the Batmobile. Batman and Red Hood followed more slowly.

"What's the plan, boss? Sneak attack? Raid?"

Batman pulled a ear communicator from his utility belt, tossing it to Red Hood, before purposefully walking forward.

"Nightwing, you go around the back of the building and wait at the back window. Red Hood, front window. I will be on the left side. You will move _at my signal. _Is that clear?"

"Got it," Nightwing said, nodding.

"Fine," Red Hood muttered, obviously not fond of taking directions.

"Alright, move out."

Tim could barely feel his body by this point. All he could feel was the pain. The pain, electrifying every nerve on his body, antagonizing in nature. His ears didn't register the laughter ringing through the warehouse; there was only pain...

That is, until his limp body was dragged across the floor and propped up against the wall, his bloody and bruised back feeling relief on the cold metal. The slight break in the torture brought enough feeling to his body that he could register the gentle tapping against his cheek, causing him to force his eyes open, his shaking vision seeing the Joker bent down as to look him in the masked eyes.

"My, my, Birdy. I can see why Bats wanted to protect you; you're like a little delicate flower!"

The clown grabbed one of Robin's no-longer-gloved hands as he continued on.

"Really, rather easy," the hand was snapped backwards quickly, a crack and whelp of pain showing the wrist had been broken. "to trample, to bruise, to break."

The Joker stood up and started pacing in front of the boy.

"What I can't figure out is why Bats even let you take up the Birdy mantle. After what _fun _I had with the last one, I'd think he'd only let the best have the job..."

The maniac suddenly stopped, then looked back at Tim, smiling wickedly.

"Unless... he thought you _were _the best. That you'd be smart enough to not take too many risks, perhaps?"

The Joker didn't wait for a response from the boy, though he wouldn't have gotten one if he had, as he turned back to the table where Tim's belt was being kept. When he returned to his spot in front of Tim, a crowbar was in his grip, the metal rusted and covered in dry blood.

"Well, Batsy should have known that if he picks up the bravest, most heroic kiddies, they won't just lay back at his demand, no matter how smart they may be. I guess that I'll have to teach him that..."

The psychopath tutted in mock disappointment.

"Well, repetition is supposed to be a good teaching tool..."

Grabbing the back of Tim's cape, he pulled the boy in front of him. Content with the positioning, he smiled, raising the crowbar into the air.

"Let's see if it works on ol' Bats."

When the metal came down on his body, Tim realized that the pain from before was nothing compared to this. He could not control the quiet yelps of pain that made his throat feel raw and numb.

He could barely hear the sudden crashing of glass, but could tell when the pain stopped. Opening his eyes, he saw the Joker had walked away from him, and he could hear muffled voices. As unconsciousness started to overtake him, the last thing he saw before the darkness took over was a figure in a red helmet behind the Joker.

**... The next one should be better. I have some plans for the next one... Some of which were admittedly pretty said will happen in this one, but still... It should be fun...**


	7. Chapter 6

**... This is a chapter I have no qualms with. I... actually like something I wrote.**

**... This is new...  
**

**Anything in itallics are flashbacks.  
**

**I do not own YJ or any related properties.  
**

Red Hood was just capable of controlling his urge to break through the skylight he was leaning against and beat the hell out of the damn clown inside the warehouse. Batman had said to wait for his signal, and it would be best to play by Batsy's rules for now.

Even if he had to watch some innocent kid get tortured by that freaking psychopath while he waited.

As the Joker broke the boy's wrist, he heard Nightwing's voice over the communicator.

"Do you think we should head down there?" his voice was obviously rather desperate, fear ringing in every syllable.

"We have to wait until he is far enough away from Robin so that he can't use him as leverage upon our entrance."

"I... guess that makes sense..."

The disappointment, and still-existent fear, was quite evident in the tone.

Red Hood had admittedly winced while watching the brutal attacks, but he as able to ignore the quiet rage that was slowly building up inside him. He had faced worse before, this clown really being the main cause of that, true, but help was on its way. The kid would clearly be just fine...

His control over himself snapped when he saw the crowbar.

At first all he could do was stare at the horror, unable to register anything. His blood pumped in his ears, and his mind wandered towards the not-so-distant past.

_"Little Birdy? Aww, don't fall asleep on me now! The fun's just begun!"_

He could barely hear Nightwing begging Batman to let him help Robin, only to be denied for the same reason as before.

_He wanted to just let his body just slip away, to escape the teeth of the crowbar digging into his flesh, the copper scent of his own blood invading his nostrils, the pure pain that his entire existence currently composed of..._

_ He tried to crawl away, but the tattered remains of his black and yellow cape that hung pathetically from his shoulders was soon yanked by the Joker, dragging him back to the maniac's feet for more of the cruel torture..._

Red Hood could not stop himself from crashing through the skylight, despite the Dark Knight's angry voice yelling at him to stop directly in his ear. The communicator was soon pulled out and thrown behind him as he descended.

The anti-hero landed in a roll on the concrete floor. His entrance stopped the swinging of the damned crowbar, and soon the Joker was looking directly at the teen.

_Laughter rang out with each hit._

_ "Now where,"_

_ The crowbar landed on his skin._

_ "is your precious Daddy Bats now?"_

_ Another blow met its mark._

_ "How about,"_

_ The metal tore through both the fabric in his costume and his bruised skin._

_ "your loving big birdy brother?"_

_ The blood was rushing down his skin, pooling in a maroon puddle around his fading body..._

"Why, who is this charming... guy in a red helmet?" The clown asked as he slowly walked away from Robin's limp form, the crowbar swung over his shoulder as he looked at Red Hood curiously.

Seeing the maniac's face again, this close up, made him suddenly feel vulnerable. Like he had only a few short years ago...

_"Oh, that's right! They don't know you're here with your Uncle Joker! Really, I should have __invited your brother as well... He is missing out on such fun!"_

_ There was a tinge of a very different fear inside, before he spat blood on the ground to clear his throat, growling out a response._

_ "You stay the hell away from him."_

_ The Joker bent down, and ruffled the boy's hair._

_ "Aww, isn't this cute? The little birdy is looking out for the big bird! Don't worry, baby bird," his face was pushed into the ground, and soon the clown's heavy foot was pushing into his chest. "I'm having waaaay too much fun with __**you**__ right now to even consider anyone else! Well, for the moment, that is..."_

His gun was in his hands in seconds.

"Put the crowbar down and get the hell away from Robin **now**, psycho."

The Joker stared into the barrel of the gun.

"Well, that doesn't really answer anything. Since you're here to save the birdy, that means you're a hero... Judging from the jacket and convincing looking dart gun, I'm guessing your name is Motorcycle Dude!"

"The name is Red Hood, clown, and this ain't a dart gun. Now put the damn crowbar down, and slide it over here!"

A short laugh echoed through the warehouse.

"Red Hood, huh? I thought that as the name of the guy who's been messing with drug trading... That was you? Then that is a real gun! Wowee, I'm dealing with a real-life anti-hero! How exciting!"

"Crowbar! Now!"

The Joker cradled the weapon, putting it up to his face.

"But... This is a bit of a prized possession for me, Hoodie. Ya see, I had an amazing play date with this as the main toy! In fact, I was just trying to relive that now... See how special it is?"

The Joker pushed the crowbar forward, into the Red Hood's visible range. He felt a churning in his stomach as he looked at the weapon, the metal slick with fresh blood, but... there were clearly layers of dried blood directly underneath...

_"Why would I want anyone else when I got a fiery little bird to play with?" the maniac cackled, blood flying in the air as the crowbar ripped the muscles in his right arm..._

"You damn clown," he whispered, seeing Batman and Nightwing quietly sneak in through the back entrance and hide behind a pile of crates in the corner of his eye. "You just have to maim everything you touch, don't you? The thousands of families you forcefully tore apart, the innocent souls you have scarred, the love you have brutally destroyed. Hell, that kid over there that you never met before today, yet still felt the need to torture, the countless emotional and physical and mental injuries you've delivered to Nightwing, who is barely 19. Every. Damn. Thing. You touch... is tainted."

The grin on the Joker's face only grew.

"Yup, that's me! I just want to remind the world that it needs to lighten up a little! You obviously got my message at one point, though it seems you didn't really listen. I don't recognize ya, though, but you do seem a bit familiar. What was it I did?"

The hand holding the gun shook.

"It doesn't matter, just get at least ten yards away from the kid, and throw the freaking crowbar over here already!"

The smile was still present, but an angry spark appeared in the clown's eyes.

"You see, Hoodie, it _does_ matter. Really, it matters a lot. I know you somehow. It is really bothering me. I hate it when something is bothering me.."

A step was taken forward, and though Red Hood strongly held the weapon, the Joker managed to hit it from his hand with a one-armed swing of his bloody crowbar.

"What's really getting in the way is that stupid helmet. I'm sure I'd know exactly who you are if you would just take off that little red helmet."

When the teen did not move, the clown shrugged, the crowbar soon lifted high above his head.

"Well, there are other ways to get rid of it..."

_The crowbar rose again, and he felt like he could hear the metal nearing his body, it whizzing through the cold air, blood dripping off as the wind tore at the surface. Soon it would be once again make contact with his broken body, and pain would engulf him once again..._

"No!"

The yell startled Red Hood, as did the slim body that pushed him out of the crowbar's arc towards his helmet. Now on the ground, he turned his head to see Nightwing approaching the Joker, escrima sticks in hand and pure hatred etched on his face.

"You will never hurt him again! I will not let you go near him again!"

Red Hood felt surprise at the protectiveness in Nightwing's words, though he had an idea as to why they were there.

"Now, why would you care if I hurt some gun-carting teen? Is this you hero-complex kicking in again, Birdy?"

"I will **always** be there to protect my little brother. Even if he doesn't even want me to know it's him."

Both Red Hood and the Joker froze at the words. The clown's smile had faded, and he slowly turned to the teen.

"I killed you," the Joker whispered. Anger overtook his features, and soon he was yelling. "I KILLED YOU!"

No longer seeing the purpose of wearing the helmet, Red Hood slowly removed it, revealing pitch black hair that just covered his masked eyes.

_"Isn't this fun, Birdy? Aren't you having fun?"_

"It turns out death isn't the most permanent state, clown," Jason said, a bitter smirk on his face.

**... It was pretty obvious Dick figured it out before, right? It was supposed to be... **


	8. Chapter 7

**... Another chapter I'm not fond of. Whatever...**

**I do not own Young Justice or any related characters.  
**

Dick was so distracted by seeing the face of his brother for real for the first time in years, even if he knew it lay underneath the helmet, that the Joker was easily able to swing the crowbar against his head.

The contact of the cold metal object felt like an explosion in his brain. A large gash opened up instantly, and he could feel warm blood rushing down the side of his face, leaving a thin trail behind it. He couldn't truly think without the explosion starting back up, so he could just lay there where he had fallen, the chill of the concrete floor soaking through his costume.

"Nightwing!" both Batman and Jason yelled out at the same time. The Dark Knight jumped from his hiding spot, a batarang already out to save the young man, and Jason moved closer to the clown, the gun still pointed directly at the Joker's head.

Both froze, however, when the maniac pulled Nightwing to his feet, and held a blade to the young man's throat.

"I'd put those toys away if I was you," he said threateningly, his eyes cold.

Bruce felt terror clench his heart. There was the boy he had raised for the past ten years, blood running from his head and still-injured chest, with a blade firmly held against his throat. He had already lost one son (though, if Dick and his own eyes were to be believed, that same son was standing directly next to him; further thought would be given to that topic after he got everyone out of there), there was no way in hell he would let another slip away.

The batarang was put away.

Jason didn't know what to do. He could just shot the damn clown and be over it, but the Joker could easily slit Dick's throat before the bullet got even close to him. The teen's logical side told him that one lost while stopping a man that would doubtlessly kill thousands more if he survived was a small price to pay.

His emotions, however, could only remind him of the kindness that Dick, his older brother, had always shown him. How the young man had just pushed him from danger seconds before.

The gun was lowered.

"That's a good bat and birdy..." the clown muttered, his mind obviously racing for a new plan.

"Let him go, Joker," Batman said firmly, but with a poorly concealed layer of fear.

The wicked laughter that filled the warehouse at the demand made Jason's blood run cold.

"Now, why would I do that? This brat has done nothing but make trouble for me for almost ten years. He's the one who interrupted our game, and when I thought that maybe everything would go back to normal, to how it should be, you got that kid," he signaled to Jason with his hand that was holding Dick to his chest, the arm still firmly in place.

"Plus, it turned out the first birdy just got some new name! Oh, and you got the girly, too! What had been one annoyance had suddenly turned to three! Of course, when I down one bird, you just _had_ to get another, Batsy! And now the only one I got rid of is back? It's just madness! And that says a lot, coming from me!" The Joker tightened his grip on Nightwing. "And it all started with this pathetic little brat."

The last words were growled out, the usual smile on the clown's face replaced with a hateful snarl, his acid green eyes narrowed in anger.

A weak voice responded.

"Heh... Didn't know I was capable of anything that even the Joker would think is crazy... That may be a record..." Dick's voice was hoarse, his words barely audible. His masked eyes were mostly closed, and his mouth was upturned slightly in a bitter smile.

After the words were uttered, Dick's eyes closed again, unconsciousness obviously overtaking him.

"Put Nightwing down, or you will be sorry, Joker," Batman snarled, no longer even bothering to hide the worry from his voice.

"Oh, what will you do if I hurt your precious birdy? Pummel me? How would that be different than any other day? And I know it is unlikely you would go all the way; you didn't last time..." a cruel grin slowly unfurled on the clown's face. "Unless, of course, this matters more."

Jason tried to not let himself notice that Bruce froze at the words. He tried to ignore the memories that the same words unveiled in himself; why he hadn't gone straight back to Bruce, to Dick, to Alfred, to the warm manor where there was family that could protect him...

Bruce hadn't avenged him. He hadn't meant enough to rid the world of one mass-murdering psycho. He really hadn't expected Dick to kill the clown; the acrobat hated extensive violence in general. But Bruce... he thought he deserved that in the least. To be shown that he mattered more than the freaking Joker.

Not only had nothing been done to rectify his death, though... He had been replaced.

He shook his head. He couldn't think like that now. Not when the same bastard that had killed him was holding his older brother with a blade.

"If Batman doesn't kill you, scum, you can bet I will if Nightwing has any further injuries when he gets back to the cave."

The gun was raised again. The clown had to know he meant business.

"Ohh, the second birdy is still worried for his big brother? You always were. Even as we played that delightful little game, you were furious at the very suggestion of inviting big bird!"

Jason felt the blood rushing from his face as his flesh paled instantly, and a sickly, cold feeling overcoming him as that moment, those damn hours of pure pain, was once again brought to mind.

"Put. Him. Down." His teeth were clenched, and unadulterated hatred poured from his very being.

"It was always easy to make you mad, also, little birdy."

Batman saw the teen, his lost son, start to snap. Even with the lenses of the mask, the anger deepening within their depths was clear.

If he had figured out that the Red Hood was Jason, which was honestly rather obvious in retrospect, he would never had let the vigilante come on this mission. He would have never let that clown near the teen.

But now Jason was there, his temper, and very possibly his very soul, was swiftly breaking, and it was completely plausible that Dick couldn't be saved.

Through the commotion, no one noticed that Robin was starting to stir from where he lay on the floor. Slowly opening his eyes, he could not see much.

But he did see the blade against Dick's throat.

Pulling himself up, Tim sluggishly moved forward, a thin trail of blood following his progress. Seeing the easiest way to save the older hero, he grabbed the crowbar that the Joker had thrown to the side after having hit Nightwing. He stealthily moved to behind the Joker, and struggled to lift the heavy metal above his head.

"There is no way to save this little birdy, Bats. Just like there was no way to save that one. But this time, I'm gonna make you watch."

The insane laughter that followed did not last very long when the painstakingly lifted crowbar fell upon his head, knocking the clown unconscious to the floor, the blade slipping from his grasp and Nightwing laying underneath the collapsed body.

Tim barely registered the shocked expressions of both Batman and some teen he assumed was Red Hood before he collapsed again.

**Merry Christmas, everybody!**


	9. Chapter 8

**I do not own Young Justice or any related characters.**

Bruce was rather shocked to see Tim standing behind the fallen villain, a crowbar in hand and a determined expression on his face. The shock, however, turned to worry when the boy fell himself, unconsciousness obviously overtaking him. As he dashed forward to pick Robin up, he noticed Red Hood doing the same to drag Dick out from under the Joker.

As they both held the unconscious boys, their masked eyes met.

It was then that the full realization of what had happened hit him.

Jason was alive.

His son, who he had found dead, brutally murdered by the sick monster at his feet, was somehow here. He had buried Jason, had seen the boy's body pale in death, yet he was standing right in front of him, his raven hair as disorderly as it always had been, his eyes hard...

"H-how?" Bruce eventually choked out. The question seemed to amuse Jason, though the teen's expression still seemed to be so... bitter. Bitter and angry.

"That is the million dollar question, Bruce. All I know is that I woke up in a Lazarus Pit." Jason responded, chuckling darkly. He stood up, supporting Dick with one arm.

Bruce followed, but with Tim.

"But- why didn't you come back home?"

Despite the fact he had only moments before been walking to the Batmobile, Jason froze, his back to Bruce. Eventually, the teen turned, pure anger on his face.

"Why didn't I come back home? Maybe I would have, if you showed I meant more than a freaking maniac."

Bruce felt his mouth go dry at the words.

"What- What do you mean?"

There was a laugh, bitterness and anger lacing the sound.

"Isn't it obvious, Bruce? I was _dead_. This sicko murdered me," he signaled to the unconscious Joker with his free hand. "After that, on top of everything else the damn clown has done, I thought that you'd erase this stain on humanity. But when I come back, though, he was still alive and kicking." His expression managed to turn even grimmer than it had been only moments before. "Also still having the time of his freaking life torturing Robins, clearly."

Bruce swallowed thickly, his mind racing for a way to respond.

"Jason..." Even saying his son's name to the boy himself, instead of just in memory of him, made his heart race. "You know... You know I don't kill."

Still holding Dick up, Jason bent down, grabbing his helmet, which had been laying on the ground.

"Of course you don't..." The words were muttered, but something seemed to break inside Jason, for the next sentence was yelled. "You couldn't bring yourself to rid the world of murdering, psychotic scum, even after he killed someone you supposedly cared about. Even a few minutes ago, when he had just tortured the kid, and was threatening Dick, you wouldn't do it. You couldn't even put him down to _save Dick!_"

The tension was as thick as molasses when a heavy grown interrupted Bruce's response. They both looked at Dick, who had been the one to groan, as his eyes slowly opened.

"Wha's goin on?" he slurred out, his eyes glazing over the warehouse in confusion. They eventually settled on Jason, and a small smile reached his lips.

"Hey, Jay. Why's Timmy hurt?" Dick winced suddenly. "Why'm I hurt?"

Jason forced a clearly fake smile onto his face, but it seemed to fool the injured Nightwing.

"There... There was just an accident with the Joker, but everything is better now. Bruce and I will just get you and the kid back to the car, and Alfie will fix you up at the Cave. Does that sound good, Dickie-Bird?"

The smile on Dick's face grew.

"I missed you, Jay..."

The words shocked Jason for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.

"... I missed you too, Wingnut."

Dick laughed lightly, though he winced again almost immediately afterwards.

"I can't beli've tha nickname stuck..."

"I will never forgive you for making me watch that dumb Care Bears movie with you."

"You were as bor'd as I was, Jay..."

Jason chuckled lightly, for once actually sounding genuine, and started moving forward.

"Lets just forget about that and head towards the car, okay?"

"Sure, Jay..."

Bruce could only stare after them for a moment, before he quickly followed his two oldest sons, his youngest still clutched to his side.

When he finally caught up with them, Jason was helping Dick into the passenger seat of the Batmobile.

"Are you comin' with us, Jay?" Dick asked, his voice pleading.

Bruce say Jason freeze at the question, his face showing clear signs of an internal struggle.

".. Not today. But I'm sure I'll see you around, Dickie-Bird."

"Promise?"

"... I promise."

Jason closed the door, then turned to Bruce, his anger from earlier returning almost instantly.

"I don't... cut that, _can't_ agree with your whole 'no killing' rule. I get you're afraid to lose yourself if you wipe out some of the scum of Gotham. What you should really be afraid of, though..."

The teen glanced at Batmobile where Dick lay, and then stared intently at the still unconscious Tim.

"... is losing those you care about if you don't."

Jason laced his helmet back on his head, covering his features once again.

"I'm not giving up my own mission, Bats. What you are doing just isn't working. Whatever you do, though... Just take care of the kid. There shouldn't be anyone else who has to go through what I did."

Jason paused for a moment, before speaking again, his voice dark.

"And, damn it Bruce, try not to be an ass to Dick. You know how sensitive he is."

With that, the teen ran off, leaving Bruce alone in the alley with the unconscious Tim, the Batmobile holding Dick, and the sound of distant police cars rushing to the scene.

Helping Tim into the back seat, he was soon behind the steering wheel, and heading back towards the manor. After a few minutes of driving, he called Alfred up.

"Yes, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked seconds after the call was initiated.

"Prepare medical attention for both Dick and Tim."

"But, Master Tim was not supposed to go out tonight!"

"He must have snuck out."

"I must ask, what happened?"

Bruce didn't know how to answer. The events of the night were many, and extremely painful in every way imaginable.

"... I'll explain when you're done getting them fixed up."

He just could not bring himself to explain right now.

"Br'ce?" Dick asked, turning his head towards the older man.

"... Yes?"

"Do ya think Jay'll be okay?"

For the second time in as many minutes, Bruce had no idea how to answer a question.

"... Eventually. He's broken right now, but... just because something is broken, doesn't mean it can't be fixed."

Dick smiled out the window.

"Next time I see him, I am going to hug the hell out of Jaybird."

A smile managed to creep onto Bruce's lips at the words.

"... You do that, Dick."

**D'arvit. There is only a epilogue left.**

**I don't want it to ennnddd...  
**


	10. Epilogue

**I do not own Young Justice or any related characters.**

Tim struggled to open his eyes, light invading them as soon as a crack was revealed. He eventually forced them open, and glanced around. He was actually rather surprised to be waking up in the bright and clean infirmary of the Batcave.

A small part of him had expected to wake up still in the warehouse, the Joker looming over him, a wicked grin in place as he prepared to inflict even more pain...

He was home, though. He was laying on a soft mattress, warm white sheets were draped over his bruised and bloodied body, and he was safe.

Now, he just had to figure out how he came to be that way.

Looking over at the infirmary's other bed, he saw Dick sitting there, flipping through a photo album. Tim quickly decided that if he wanted answers, Dick would very likely be the most willing to give them. Of course, he didn't know how sensitive what happened was, so he had no idea if Dick would be comfortable talking about it.

It was worth a shot, though.

"Dick?" his mouth struggled to form the name.

The injured acrobat looked up, surprised, before he smiled lightly and closed the album.

"What is it, Timmy?"

"What happened there?"

The smile suddenly seemed frozen, and honestly rather fake.

"... Well, the Red Hood got the Joker to stop torturing you, one thing lead to another, and soon Hood was leading me back to the Batmobile while Bruce was taking care of you."

Tim's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"But... why was the Red Hood there to begin with?"

Dick's smile faded instantly, and he looked down sadly at the scrapbook as he answered.

"... Timmy, the Red Hood is Jason. Somehow he's back, and he didn't like seeing someone else going through what he did."

Tim was sure he had heard something wrong in that sentence.

"... What?"

Dick bit his bottom lip, misery filling his crystal blue eyes.

"He's really angry at Bruce for... for reasons that, while they make sense, are... well, wrong. So... he didn't tell us he was back. Until he showed up as Red Hood, I thought that my little brother was dead..."

A chuckle escaped through Dick's mouth.

"I think he expected me to not really care about him anymore. I'll never stop caring, though..."

Tim knew that occasionally people came back from the dead; Ra's al Ghul did so constantly. He had never thought that this would occur with the lost Robin, though.

However, it did make all the pieces come together. Why Red Hood talked to him. Why he didn't mean to shoot Nightwing. Why he didn't support Tim fighting Joker.

And why he came to help rescue him.

"Why-why was he angry?"

Dick sighed.

"He thinks that Bruce should have killed the Joker after he killed him. His reasoning makes sense, but it doesn't change the fact that we just don't kill."

Tim nodded, putting the pieces together in his mind.

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know. I'm kind of hoping he's still in Gotham, but it is possible he left..."

Deciding to focus on this rather shocking news when his head didn't feel like it was being used as a drum set, he asked the question that had honestly been haunting him since he had woken up.

"Where is Joker?"

Dick's smile returned, though it was immensely small.

"He's back in Arkham. At least there is that to say of the evening."

Tim sighed in relief, glad to know that the clown wouldn't be anywhere near him for at least weeks from then.

Another Robin, however, could not say the same that night. Mostly because he was breaking into Arkham just to talk to the Joker, but he was still rather afraid.

The Red Hood wasn't. His other identity didn't feel fear. But Jason did. And Jason only wanted to talk to the damn clown for just a little bit of closure, even if he knew killing him wouldn't work then, and only that would bring true peace.

Joker just had to get a few things clear, though. Since no one else could make him realize these things, it seemed it was up to him.

It was not hard for Jason to sneak into the Asylum's vents through the roof, and once inside the building, he was able to knock the guards at the door to the Joker's cell out just as simply. Breathing deeply to try and control the anger and hatred that was threatening to engulf his emotions, he slowly opened the door to the cell.

"Wowee, what Doc is comin' to talk with me this time?" the clown's high pitched voice rang out before he even entered the room.

"I'm no doctor, Joker," Jason growled out, barley resisting the urge to make sure his helmet was still covering his face. Showing any sort of weakness in front of the maniac could easily end in disaster.

"Hoodie! How nice to see you again! I had so much fun with you and your family last night!" The Joker didn't seem at all phased that the young anti-hero was there. Jason did his best to not let that bother him.

"I'm sure you did, clown," his teeth were firmly clenched, and his right hand was gripping his gun.

"Well, what has brought me the honor of the death-defying birdy visiting my humble cell?" That damn grin wouldn't leave his face...

"I've just got to make a few things clear, since you haven't seemed to figure them out yet." The Joker was staring cross-eyed down the barrel of Jason's gun in seconds.

"... What exactly are these things I don't get?"

Underneath his helmet, Jason's eyes narrowed as he started to answer.

"If you ever try anything like what you did last night again, not even Batman will be able to stop me from hunting you down and ridding the world of your worthless existence."

Jason did not feel comfortable with the wicked smirk growing, and darkening.

"Ohh, that is rather straight to the point, Birdy. What part of last night am I not allowed to do anymore without punishment? Was it my play date with the baby bird that bothered you? How about the little quality time with the first Boy Blunder?"

His grip on the gun tightened as the memories of the night before filled him with even more anger.

"All of it."

The cackle that sounded out afterwards made Jason's blood run cold.

"Ohhh, I can't exactly promise that, Hoodie."

The teen couldn't resist doing a small smile of his own, even if the maniac couldn't see it.

"I guessed as much. This isn't the last time you'll see me, clown. If they get hurt because of your psychotics, for your sick sense of _fun_, well, I really wouldn't feel at all guilty freeing you from your own insanity."

Before the Joker could respond, running could be heard from down the hallway. Jason dashed out the door, slamming it behind him, and jumped into the vents where he had entered before the guards could make it to the cell.

Minutes later, he was running on the rooftops of Gotham, towards his run down apartment in the worst part of the city.

A few days pass. Soon Tim is deemed stable enough to leave the infirmary, though Bruce was still having Dick monitor him 24/7.

He was rather glad that it was Dick that was chosen for the job. No one else would be willing to help with what he was quite determined to do.

"Dick?" Tim spoke out five nights after the original incident. The acrobat, who had been texting Wally about something, looked up.

"Yeah, Timmy?"

"I was wondering if... you would be willing to help me with something."

Dick cocked an eyebrow at Tim.

"And that would be?"

Tim took a deep breath before answering.

"Well, if Red Hood was-I mean, is Jason... I want to talk to him. I mean, I guess I did talk to him before, but that was when I thought he was just a random weird vigilante, and-"

Dick stood, and put walked over to the ranting boy, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him from continuing.

"I get it, Tim. And I know Bruce would not approve of this..."

Tim felt himself deflating.

"But he has a League mission tonight, so he can't exactly stop us, can he?"

The young teen smiled up at his brother.

"I guess not, huh?"

They smirked at each other for a couple seconds before dashing for the entrance to the Batcave. Only a few minutes later, they were swinging through Gotham.

"Where do you think we should look for him?" Tim asked as they landed on a rooftop, his face crinkled as he thought.

"Usually he is hanging around the more beat up part of the city."

"How do you know?"

"I obsessively looked for him for awhile, remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

Tim followed Dick as the older hero swung in the direction of Crime Alley and the surrounding area. Eventually the acrobat stopped, and stood, waiting for Tim to catch up.

"How long do you think we will have to look?"

"Look for what?"

Both jumped at the unexpected voice. Turning swiftly to the sound, Tim was shocked to see Red Hood standing near the edge of the roof, his arms crossed over his chest. Dick, however, looked thrilled.

"Jaybird!" Dick nearly squealed out the nickname before sprinting to the teen, encasing him in his arms.

"Damn it- What is this, Dick?!"

"It is a freaking hug, Jason. I have not given you a hug in years. There is no excuse for you to avoid it."

"Really, Wingnut? A hug?"

"Yes."

Tim didn't want to interrupt Dick's affection, especially since Jason actually sounded like, though he protested, he really did enjoy it. However, he had a purpose for this, and, well... he really needed to ask something.

"Um, Dick?" he spoke quietly, but the older hero still heard it. He released the young vigilante from his grip.

"I almost forgot! Timmy wanted to talk with you, Jay. I'll just... go over there while you two do that." Dick then proceeded to awkwardly walked a few yards away, giving Tim a chance to approach Jason.

"What is it, kid?" the teen asked in a bored voice.

"... Why did you save me?" The words were very quiet, but Jason still heard them.

"What?"

"Why- why did you save me? Why don't you hate me for taking your name? Why-"

"Stop now, kid." Jason interrupted the now much louder and emotional questions.

"Well... why?"

Jason sighed, and took off his helmet to run his fingers through the raven hair beneath before answering.

"If it makes you feel better, I thought I was going to hate you when I found out there was a new Robin. While I was mostly angry at Bruce for putting another kid through this, I really didn't have the most positive emotions about you either. Then I actually met you. While you were acting kind of annoying, I think I might of kind of goaded that out, and it was obscured by one thing that I would be completely hypocritical to dislike in the least."

"... What?"

"An obvious need to make Bruce proud. Damn, I know how that feels..."

Tim nodded slowly in understanding, and listened as Jason went on.

"As for saving you, I would have done that even if I really did hate you. I would never let another kid go through what I did. That is one thing that no personal feelings would ever get in the way of."

Jason sighed again before continuing.

"So, kid- Tim, was it? Yeah, Tim... you seem like a good kid. And a really innocent one, at that. Try to keep it that way, okay?"

Before Tim had the chance to respond, Dick seemed to get impatient, and did a few back flips over to where they stood.

"Are you two done talking yet?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Dick smirked evilly, before suddenly hugging them both.

"Dick-"

"Really, Dickie-Bird?!"

"Group hug!"

"You are so immature!"

"I just want to hug my little brothers! What's so immature about that?"

"The fact that you are hugging."

"Well, then I'm just going to keep hugging until one of you hugs me back!"

There was a silence.

"Kid, you're younger, you should do it."

"He makes me hug him all the time. You do it!"

"No way!"

"Why don't you two love meee?"

"Oh great, now Dick's sad..."

The bickering went on, and while they thought they were completely alone, a dark shadow, that oddly resembled a bat, watched from a few rooftops away, a small smile on his face.

"Those are definitely my sons."

**... It's over.**

**I am now sad.  
**

**However, while I originally did not plan to have a sequel, I actually thought of a plot for one last night. So yeah. Now there should be one decently soon. Be on the loom out for that.**

**And thank you to everyone who read and, even more so, reviewed this story!  
**


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